There are no Christians waiting around when Jesus returns.
What?
Take a look at this:
Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Who is "he"?
He is the false prophet.
Revelation 19:20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
The false prophet causes "all" to take the mark of the beast. If you take the mark, you are no longer Christian. If you don't take it you are killed. Who is left by the time Jesus returns?
What does "all" mean?
It turns out in the Bible that there can be exceptions to terms like all or none. Here there are probably small groups of Christians hiding out in the wilderness who managed to avoid the mark.
Thanks to the mark, there are no Christians waiting for Jesus when he returns. Well, maybe a few. You can immediately see that this revelation causes problems across many verses.
What about all those verses about the return of Jesus telling us to watch and to be ready?
Matthew 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Apparently, the above verses are directed at no one. We just learned that no Christians are not waiting around when Jesus comes. Also, we already know when Jesus comes - during the battle of Armageddon.
Revelation 19:19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse [Jesus] and against His army.
Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Matthew 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Matthew 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Now there is double confusion. Matthew 24:43-44 are directed to no one, and telling us that we do not know when Jesus is going to return even though we kinda do know.
Matthew 13 explains the problem. These kinds of verses are written to deliberately confuse, because most people refuse to see and won't listen. Basically, it's like the Jews who refused to listen to Hitler during the 30s in order to see where things were headed. It's about really bad news. Our job is to find that hidden bad news.
The underlying message of Matthew 24:43-44 is that we need to watch and be ready for the return of Jesus. If we are not ready then we could suffer consequences like if a thief broke into our house.
OK, I'm watching for the return of Jesus. But what does it mean to be ready?
Here's is where I get to the bad news. I mean really bad news:
The return of Jesus is not about the day Jesus returns. It's about the events that will shortly precede his actual return. Those events will include nuclear attacks and the mark of the beast. Nuclear attacks will precede the mark of the beast and even the beginning of the tribulation when life is normal. Christians will be present and vulnerable like everybody else.
Typically, when the Bible talks about the return of Jesus in confusing language it's actually referring to a sudden nuclear attack or the mark of the beast.
Matthew 24:43-44 are telling us to watch and be ready for nuclear attacks in the time before Jesus actually arrives. Such attacks will come suddenly and catch most people off-guard. If you pay close attention, you avoid can this fate.
Notice that you don't believe me. Even though, this very day, analysts are worried about nuclear war with Russia and China, you don't believe me. Maybe you do believe me but the price of acting is too high. As some Christians have told me, "I would just rather die." They want to live normally then just die if a nuclear attack comes.
What about all the confusing verses in the Bible about watching and being ready? Are they for nothing? For most Christians, I think the answer is yes.
More to come on this topic.
What?
Take a look at this:
Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Who is "he"?
He is the false prophet.
Revelation 19:20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
The false prophet causes "all" to take the mark of the beast. If you take the mark, you are no longer Christian. If you don't take it you are killed. Who is left by the time Jesus returns?
What does "all" mean?
It turns out in the Bible that there can be exceptions to terms like all or none. Here there are probably small groups of Christians hiding out in the wilderness who managed to avoid the mark.
Thanks to the mark, there are no Christians waiting for Jesus when he returns. Well, maybe a few. You can immediately see that this revelation causes problems across many verses.
What about all those verses about the return of Jesus telling us to watch and to be ready?
Matthew 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Apparently, the above verses are directed at no one. We just learned that no Christians are not waiting around when Jesus comes. Also, we already know when Jesus comes - during the battle of Armageddon.
Revelation 19:19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse [Jesus] and against His army.
Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Matthew 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Matthew 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Now there is double confusion. Matthew 24:43-44 are directed to no one, and telling us that we do not know when Jesus is going to return even though we kinda do know.
Matthew 13 explains the problem. These kinds of verses are written to deliberately confuse, because most people refuse to see and won't listen. Basically, it's like the Jews who refused to listen to Hitler during the 30s in order to see where things were headed. It's about really bad news. Our job is to find that hidden bad news.
The underlying message of Matthew 24:43-44 is that we need to watch and be ready for the return of Jesus. If we are not ready then we could suffer consequences like if a thief broke into our house.
OK, I'm watching for the return of Jesus. But what does it mean to be ready?
Here's is where I get to the bad news. I mean really bad news:
The return of Jesus is not about the day Jesus returns. It's about the events that will shortly precede his actual return. Those events will include nuclear attacks and the mark of the beast. Nuclear attacks will precede the mark of the beast and even the beginning of the tribulation when life is normal. Christians will be present and vulnerable like everybody else.
Typically, when the Bible talks about the return of Jesus in confusing language it's actually referring to a sudden nuclear attack or the mark of the beast.
Matthew 24:43-44 are telling us to watch and be ready for nuclear attacks in the time before Jesus actually arrives. Such attacks will come suddenly and catch most people off-guard. If you pay close attention, you avoid can this fate.
Notice that you don't believe me. Even though, this very day, analysts are worried about nuclear war with Russia and China, you don't believe me. Maybe you do believe me but the price of acting is too high. As some Christians have told me, "I would just rather die." They want to live normally then just die if a nuclear attack comes.
What about all the confusing verses in the Bible about watching and being ready? Are they for nothing? For most Christians, I think the answer is yes.
More to come on this topic.
